"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow -
inch by inch, row by row"

Welcome!

I'm a wife, mom, long-time organic gardener and now a new organic farmer, Registered Dietitian (RD), author of the book A Dietitian's Cancer Story and website CancerRD.com. In between all that and more, I am a multiple-time cancer survivor. My website focuses on nutrition information for cancer survivors, however I began this blog in June 2007 to share a wider scope of my thoughts about life as a cancer survivor, food and nutrition, growing food, recipes, our environment, and the urgent need for developing food systems that promote health not disease, ecological sustainability, and social justice.

In January 2009, I began my blog "365DaysOfKale" to write about my passion for "all things kale" and the CancerVictoryGardens™ blog in March 2009 to help everyone touched by cancer cultivate health through a garden's nourishment of body and soul.

My Book

Personally autographed copies of the most recent printing are available at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor, MI (734-662-0600, nicolasbooks.com). Proceeds are donated to research funded by The American Institute for Cancer Research (aicr.org, 1-800-843-8114).

Cancer Nutrition Websites

Disclaimer

All material on this blog is for informational purposes only. Please consult your personal physician and health care team for advice that pertains specifically to you. The author of this blog disclaims any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of the information on the blog.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Tantre Farm's Thanksgiving CSA Share

I could have easily titled this post "A Cornucopia of Beautiful, Delicious, and Lovingly-grown Food!" This is our first year to purchase Tantre Farm's Thanksgiving CSA Share, and I'm glad we did. Using many of these veggies, some of our own, plus a locally raised turkey permitted us to have a Thanksgiving feast that was nearly all produced within our own county.

Here two photos of all the food from the CSA share spread out on our kitchen table, followed by a list of everything we received. Do you recognize everything you are looking at in the photo? Can you match what you see with the list of veggies? I feel like the only items we purchase at a regular supermarket these days are necessities like laundry detergent, sugar, flour, and something like parchment paper, certainly not something necessary but helpful for baking.

CELERAIC (Celery Root) knobby, brown root; tastes like strong celery and parsley mixed; useful as an herb and as a vegetable; high in carbohydrates, vitamin C, phosphorous, and potassium, and small amounts of vitamin B, and iron.

GARLIC (we certainly did not need any more garlic but I know we'll use this, too - besides Dick can do a taste comparison between his own and Tantre Farm's.

RADISHES (D'Avignon) also called “French Breakfast”; traditional variety from Southern France; 3-4 inch long root that is part red with a white tip and tapered to a point). *Tops are edible too & good in soups and gravies.

RUTABAGA purplish skin with yellow flesh; thought to be a cross between a cabbage and a turnip and resembles a large turnip (3 to 5 inches in diameter). (my husband's favorite!! - absolutely necessary if you make authentic pasties as in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan).

SPINACH crisp, dark green leaf best eaten raw or with minimal cooking to obtain the beneficial chlorophyll, and vitamins A & C.(The spinach was eaten that day, first raw, just nibbling the leaves and then steamed for dinner - too, too good to let sit around in the refrig!)

TURNIPS You will receive Scarlet Queen (large, flat-round, sweet, crisp, white flesh with spicy, red skin—in mesh bag without greens) and Hakurei (white salad turnip with round, smooth roots that have a sweet, fruity flavor with a crisp, tender texture. You will receive some without greens in a mesh bag with Scarlet Queen variety. You will also receive some white turnips with greens in your box. Hairless greens are good in salads or sautéed with roots.

Just for fun, here are some photos of our Thanksgiving food: the turkey (and my husband Dick) from Harnois Farms, the potatoes ready to cook, the red turnips, and our kale salad (yes those are pomagranate seeds on top, which along with the salt, pepper, olive oil and wine vinegar were just about our only non-locally produced foods used for this meal!)

Hi Diana - wasn't it a wonderful box of vegetables? We split our Thanksgiving share, but I'm a little bit in shock that it's almost gone! I'm not sure how we're going to finish the rest of that squash though. :)

Jen - I've had gluey potatoes too - when I've tried mashing them with the food processor or immersion blender. Apparently, the sharp knives cut the cell walls letting gluey stuff spill out and it can't be fixed. I have learned to use the mixer.

Those vegetables are spectacular! That pot of potatoes is so pretty, I so have to grow potatoes next year! We eat a lot of pomegranates, too this time of year. Wish the season for them was a little longer! The chickens love the white pulp.